AD Ports Group launches trial operations at Noatum Ports - Safaga Terminal in Egypt
Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports Group has launched trial operations at Noatum Ports - Safaga Terminal in Egypt ahead of the terminal’s full operational launch later this year.
His Excellency Lieutenant-General Eng. Kamel El Wazir, Minister of Transport – Egypt; and Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi – Managing Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group; along with senior officials have conducted a site tour of the new multipurpose terminal in Safaga Port – Egypt.
The officials reviewed the terminal’s operations, systems, and processes, which are designed to ensure full operational readiness and the seamless delivery of services in accordance with the highest international standards. The Noatum Ports - Safaga Terminal is being delivered under a 30-year concession agreement signed in 2023 for the development and operation of the mu
ltipurpose terminal, in partnership with Egypt’s Red Sea Ports Authority (RSPA).
Lieutenant General Engineer Kamel El-Wazir, Egypt’s Minister of Transport, said: “We commend the productive partnership with AD Ports Group to deliver a range of strategic maritime port projects along the Red Sea, as well as across various sectors of the maritime transport industry. Safaga Terminal serves as a key gateway for the development of Upper Egypt and will play a vital role in supporting the mining activities associated with the Golden Triangle Economic Zone, facilitating import and export operations, and enabling development projects across Northern, Central, and Southern Upper Egypt through enhanced connectivity with the port.
Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO - AD Ports Group, said: “Egypt is one of the Group’s most important international markets, and serves as a major trade gateway along the Group’s global network, spanning Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. With strategic access to the Red Sea, Noatum Ports – Safaga Terminal reinforces our position as an enabler of trade across key waterways. We look forward to the full operational launch of our new terminal later this year, which represents another major step in our cooperation with our partners in Egypt, in line with the vision of our wise leadership.”
The Noatum Ports - Safaga Terminal will span approximately 810,000 m2, featuring a 1,000-metre quay wall designed to handle up to 450,000 TEUs, alongside 5 million tonnes of dry bulk and general cargo, 1 million tonnes of liquid bulk, and 50,000 CEUs of Ro-Ro cargo.
The terminal is set to be the first internationally operated port terminal in the Upper Egypt region of southern Egypt, serving as a key gateway for the region and strengthening connectivity across Egypt, the Middle East, Africa, and global shipping routes.
Egypt and the Red Sea are a focus of AD Ports Group’s expanding global network of integrated trade, transport, and logistics facilities. In April 2026, Noatum Ports, the international ports operating arm of AD Ports Group confirmed the delivery of three new ship-to-shore (STS) and six rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes to its new multipurpose terminal in Safaga. The Group is also developing the 20 km2 KEZAD East Port Said Industrial and Logistics Park with Egyptian partners at the Mediterranean gateway of the Suez Canal. And in November 2025, AD Ports Group invested $279 million) to acquire a 19.3% stake in one of Egypt’s largest container terminal operators, Alexandria Container & Cargo Handling Company (ALCN), and subsequently moved to acquire a majority stake in the company.